Comcast Taps the Cash Pile With Big Spending Night

With all the talk about corporations sitting on massive cash piles — Apple we are looking at you — Comcast has just gone and spent its own stash.

Associated Press

In one fell-swoop this evening, the media giant announced a $16.7 billion acquisition, a $1.4 billion purchase of a New York landmark, as well as a $2 billion share buybacks and a 20% dividend increase, which could cost about $320 million a year.

Added all up that’s enough to more than burn through the $7.9 billion in free-cash flow the company earned for 2012, according to its fourth-quarter report.

The biggest chuck of Comcast’s spending spree is the $16.7 billion it plopped down for General Electric’s 49% stake in NBCUniversal, and the $1.4 billion it is paying for 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York and CNBC’s headquarters in New Jersey as part of the deal.

That will be funded with $11.4 billion in cash on hand and $2 billion in borrowings plus GE taking on $4 billion in senior unsecured notes and $725 million in preferred stocks.

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